Saplings along BRTS dry up due to heat wave

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, April 25

Though the intense heat wave has not yet gripped the area, tree saplings planted alongside the newly constructed Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in the city have already dried up.

In the absence of regular watering of plants, the saplings planted in various stretches have dried up, as the horticulture wing of the Municipal Corporation has not made any arrangements to plant replacements.

Residents stated that with the heat wave going to become more intense in the coming days, the existing tender saplings, too, are facing the threat of extinction. “In the summer, the watering of plants, especially small saplings, should be regular. However, as the MC watering vehicles are seldom spotted, the plants have dried up,” complained a resident, Sukhwinder Singh.

The administration had chopped off hundreds of fully grown trees from roadsides to extend the portion of the road for the construction of the BRTS corridor. The stretch of Mall Road was most affected, as decades old trees were chopped off.

To compensate for the loss of greenery, the administration had planted new saplings alongside the BRTS corridor after its construction. However, the indifference with which the newly planted saplings have been treated, it is obvious that many of these would not be able to survive the coming harsh summer.

The residents had earlier, too, created a hue and cry when the fully grown trees were being cut, arguing that these should be transplanted at suitable sites. Now, they complain that efforts must be made to help the saplings survive so that these can compensate for the loss of greenery in a few years.

Officials of the MC stated that the frequency of the watering of plants would be increased in the next few days. A senior official of horticulture wing of the MC said, “The dried up saplings would be replaced with new ones as soon as the weather becomes favourable. If new saplings are planted now, the chances of them surviving would be very weak.”